Cholesterol is essential for the growth and viability of higher organisms. It is a lipid that modulates the fluidity of eukaryotic membranes, and is the precursor to steroid hormones such as progesterone, testosterone, and the like. Cholesterol can be obtained from the diet, or synthesized internally in the liver and the intestines. Cholesterol is transported in body fluids to specific targets by lipoproteins, which are classified according to increasing density. For example, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) is responsible for transport of cholesterol to and from the liver and to peripheral tissue cells, where LDL receptors bind LDL, and mediate its entry into the cell.
Although cholesterol is essential to many biological processes in mammals, elevated serum levels of LDL cholesterol are undesirable, in that they are known to contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in arteries throughout the body, which may lead, for example, to the development of coronary artery diseases. Conversely, elevated levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) have been found, based upon human clinical data, and animal model systems, to protect against development of coronary diseases.
In general, excess cholesterol is removed from the body by a pathway involving high density lipoproteins (HDLs). Cholesterol is “effluxed” from cells by one of two processes—either by passive transfer to mature HDL, or an active transfer to apolipoprotein A-1. The latter process is mediated by a protein known as ATP binding cassette transporter 1 (ABC-1, or alternatively referenced as ABCA-1). In the latter process, lipid-poor HDL precursors acquire phospholipid and cholesterol, which leads to increased plasma levels of mature HDL particles. HDL cholesterol is eventually transported to the liver in a process known as “reverse cholesterol transport”, where it is either recycled or excreted as bile.
One method of treatment aimed at reducing the risk of formation of atherosclerotic plaques in arteries relates to decreasing plasma lipid levels. Such a method includes diet changes, and/or treatment with drugs such as derivatives of fibric acid (clofibrate, gemfibrozil, and fenofibrate), nicotinic acid, and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, such as mevinolin, mevastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin, fluvastatin, and lovastatin, which reduce plasma LDL cholesterol levels by either inhibiting the intracellular synthesis of cholesterol or inhibiting the uptake via LDL receptors. In addition, bile acid-binding resins, such as cholestyrine, colestipol and probucol decrease the level of LDL-cholesterol by reducing intestinal uptake and increasing the catabolism of LDL-cholesterol in the liver.
It is desired to provide alternative therapies aimed at reducing the risk of formation of atherosclerotic plaques in arteries, especially in individuals deficient in the removal of cholesterol from artery walls via the HDL pathway. Given that HDL levels are generally related to the expression of ABCA-1, one method of increasing HDL levels would be to increase the expression of ABCA-1. Accordingly, it is desired to provide compounds that are potent stimulators of the expression of ABCA-1 in mammals, thus increasing cholesterol efflux and raising HDL cholesterol levels in blood. This would be useful for the treatment of various disease states characterized by low HDL levels, in particular coronary artery disease.
It has also been shown that a combination of a drug that decreases LDL cholesterol levels and a drug that increases HDL cholesterol is beneficial; see, for example, Arterioscler., Thromn., Vasc. Biol. (2001), 21(8), 1320–1326, by Marian C. Cheung et al. Accordingly, it is also desired to provide a combination of a compound that stimulates the expression of ABCA-1 with a compound that lowers LDL cholesterol levels.
It should be noted it has also been shown that raising ABCA-1 production in macrophages locally reduces cholesterol deposition in coronary arteries without significantly raising plasma HDL cholesterol. In this instance, raising ABCA-1 expression is beneficial even in the absence of increased HDL cholesterol.